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whisker-biscuit · 11 months

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The Lines We Cross - Chapter 7

Bentley Comes Through

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See you met me at an interesting time And if my past is any sign of your future You should be warned before I let you inside

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The pit stop turned out to be a tiny store in Nebraska an eight-hour car drive away, sandwiched between a tattoo parlor and a private attorney's office on a quiet street in a quiet town. “Wiseturtle Tech” was emblazoned over the front. Sly stared up at the blocky, faded lettering and was thoroughly unimpressed.

“I don’t understand why you don’t just ask your boss for a new weapon,” he said for the hundredth time since they’d started the impromptu detour. “Seems a lot easier than going out of your way to a podunk place like this.”

“Shock pistols aren’t manufactured en-masse,” the cop admitted. “They’re custom weaponry that only higher ranks like inspectors can have. I didn’t want to ask Barkley for a new one right after he gave me so much expensive equipment already, and it would have taken a while for them to ship a new one, anyway.”

“What about a regular gun, then? Doesn’t Interpol have those?”

“They do…” Her lips thinned. “I just don’t like using them.”

“...Right.” He gave the storefront another once-over, then turned to look at her holster where her broken pistol was tucked safely away. “So, what makes you think some random tech guy can salvage a mess like that?”

“You'll see.”

Inspector Fox pushed open the door to let them both inside. A little bell overhead chimed in response, but no one was actually at the desk to greet them. The counters behind the desk were covered in dismantled machinery – phones, laptops, kitchen appliances, and a million other things Sly couldn’t identify. The one intact computer sitting on the desk had a screensaver of a little green turtle head bouncing aimlessly off the edges of the screen.

There was a wall offering various tech and accessories, so the raccoon wandered over that way. “Great customer service. Really selling me on this place.”

“Oh, shush.” She stepped up to the counter and rang the service bell. “Hello? Anyone home?”

A large pink hippo in a gray uniform shirt poked his head out of one of the back doorways. His eyes widened and a big goofy grin grew on his face as he recognized the person who had called for him.

“Hi Miss Fox!”

“Hi, Murray,” she greeted him with a warm smile. “Is Bentley here? I could really use his help.”

The hippo nodded emphatically. “Yeah! I’ll go get him right now for you!”

He disappeared from sight again, and she gave Sly a smug look, who only shrugged and went back to studying the wall of stuff. It was a bizarre mix, really – half of what was on sale looked brand new, state of the art and built for the latest tech trends, while the other half looked like it had been lifted from a RadioShack in the eighties. Even if the single camera he’d noted in one ceiling corner was just for show, nothing here was really worth taking. Not for his needs, anyway.

There was a clatter as Murray bounded back out from his hiding place, followed by a tiny turtle with giant spectacles and a little red bowtie over his shirt that matched his coworker’s. He climbed onto the chair across the desk from where the cop stood and only gave Sly a brief glance.

“Hello, Inspector Fox. It’s been a while,” he said in the most nasally voice the raccoon had ever heard. “Is your computer having issues again?”

“No. I’m here for something else today.” She lifted her ruined shock pistol and placed it carefully onto the counter.

Bentley’s mouth fell open. “What did you do to it?”

“Work-related. It was overloaded with electricity, but I can’t really share any more details than that,” she hurriedly dismissed with a wave of her hand. “Do you think you can fix it?”

“I can…certainly try.” The turtle picked it up by the handle between two fingers, as if afraid it might explode. “You know, every time I think I’ve seen every way someone can destroy their tech, you always manage to surprise me.”

“I will take that as a compliment!” She shot a glare at Sly when he snorted. “So, how long will you need?”

“A few hours at least. And that’s if I already have all the parts to replace anything damaged beyond repair. Otherwise, it could be anywhere between a few days to a few weeks.”

The inspector grimaced and shook her head. “If you can’t fix it within the day, don’t bother. It would be faster to get a new one.”

“Alright.” His gaze flickered over to the raccoon, who stared back impassively. “I’ll, uh, give you a call when I know for sure what the time estimate will be.”

“Thanks, Bentley.”

As they left the store together, Sly met Murray’s curious gaze. The hippo gave him a smile as wide as he had Inspector Fox, and Sly couldn’t help but give an awkward attempt at one back.

“Well, it looks like we have some time to kill,” he said the moment the doors swung closed behind them. “What’s the plan while we wait?”

She chewed her lip. “I need to figure out which member of the Five to go after first. And you still haven’t given me that evidence yet, Ringtail.”

“I will, don’t worry. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t high-tail it out of that apartment and leave me stranded.”

The two of them got back in her car, and the fox gave him a long, searching stare. “You’re really going through with this, huh.”

It wasn’t entirely a question. He’d let his emotions slip a little more than he’d wanted the other night, and she had seen his conviction because of it. Even so, he’d had a day and a half since then to think over his decision to rub shoulders with a cop – one from Interpol, no less – and although he had plenty of misgivings, Sly still believed it was his best option for now.

He might know where most of the Five were holed up these days, but that would only get him so far on his own. She had resources, and a seemingly genuine interest in seeing justice served, and it would be so much easier to let her blaze through their hideouts and move stealthily in the chaos she created than trying to break in by himself – especially once they realized he hadn’t been arrested like the rest of Muggshot’s goons. The last place they would ever expect to find him was at the side of the cop who was out to bust them all.

And, after seeing how she had miraculously won a one-on-one battle against the bulldog, he almost dared to believe that he’d be safe with her even if they did find him.

“Yeah, I am,” he answered, honest for once in his life, before pulling out the precious information she so desperately wanted. “Here. For your peace of mind.”

The cop grabbed them and began reading immediately. Her lips moved without sound as she did so; it was a small, almost endearing detail that made his mouth twitch just a little bit upwards.

“These are emails,” she finally said in hushed excitement. “Emails between some of the Five. Muggshot, Sir Raleigh, and Mz. Ruby. But…why would he print them out?”

Because they always wipe their communications but Muggshot has the memory of a gnat, he didn’t say out loud. “Probably because he doesn’t know how to tell the difference between print’ and ‘delete’. You’ve met the guy.”

Inspector Fox hummed, only half listening. Her nose was buried in papers. Sly had already read them while waiting on the roof of her motel, and he knew what she was going to find. He pulled the car seat back until it was nearly horizontal, flipped his hood up over his eyes, and laid his linked hands behind his head like he was going to take a nap.

“The most recent communications are between Muggshot and Mz. Ruby,” she mumbled to herself, “from the same day that I busted him. And the ones between him and Sir Raleigh are from two weeks ago. That’s interesting.”

“Mhm.”

“They all seem to be talking about the same thing,” the fox continued, in a slow, thoughtful tone. “Some kind of special package they’d been ferrying back and forth. Raleigh to Muggshot, and then Muggshot to Mz. Ruby.”

Sly stared at the tiny threadbare stitching of the inside of his hood.

“But…” She tapped a line on the page. “It looks like the latter two settled on a transfer date that’s still another week away. Whatever they were smuggling between them, it never made it to the alligator before Muggshot was arrested.”

He was so still he was barely breathing. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

“I wonder what that package was. These emails are so vague, all I can really tell is that it was probably fragile and priceless, and with all the stolen stuff we found in his penthouse, almost anything could fall under those categories.”

“Well, no use getting our tails in a twist over something they’re never going to get their hands on again,” Sly said, a little curter than he meant to.

She shifted next to him, obviously surprised by his blunt brush off, but then went back to reading without saying anything about it. After a minute of uncomfortable silence, the cop straightened in her seat.

“We’ve got locations!” She exclaimed. “The last transfer point was in Wales, and the next scheduled one is supposed to be in Haiti. That must be where Raleigh and Mz. Ruby are hiding out right now. I wonder what kind of awful schemes they’re involved in. Everyone had been speculating that the Five had gone into hiding in some kind of criminal retirement, but these clearly indicate otherwise.”

“I dunno a single thing about any of that, but between Wales and Haiti, I vote we go to Haiti first.”

“Why Haiti?”

The raccoon finally lifted the fabric from his eyes to look sideways at her. “Two reasons. Number one is that Haiti is way closer to the States than Wales is, and if Mz. Ruby hasn’t heard about Muggshot’s arrest by next week, then you have a chance to catch her at the exact time and place she’s planning to make that exchange with him.”

An exact time and place he was going to avoid like the plague if he could help it.

“Number two is that Mz. Ruby has premonition. The longer you leave her out there, the more likely she’ll look into the future, see her own arrest and disappear, or see her partners’ arrests and warn them to disappear. Then you’re screwed either way.”

“That’s true, but –” she paused suddenly, and narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “Wait. How do you know about Mz. Ruby’s powers?”

“Are you kidding? It’s one of the things she’s most famous for besides literally summoning the undead. Just because Interpol has its special top-secret info doesn’t mean some stuff doesn’t reach public knowledge.”

Sly held her gaze without blinking until she backed down with an acknowledging nod. Her wariness was frustrating but understandable, especially because of how she wasn’t wrong to have it.

Just for all the wrong reasons.

“Okay. Haiti, then.” Inspector Fox pulled out a tiny notebook from her jacket’s front pocket and began scribbling down notes as she scanned the printed emails again. “That’s going to be about a long flight, so I need to book plane tickets for the earliest possible flight I can find for two people.”

He must have let something show on his face about that, because she huffed and gave him an impatient look.

“What now?”

“Nothing. I just – I didn’t think we’d be flying.” As soon as it left his mouth, he regretted it. She stared at him like he was an idiot.

“How else are we supposed to get there, Ringtail?” She asked sarcastically. “By car?”

“No. I just…I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking. You don’t have to be crappy about it.”

The cop began to open her mouth again, and he just knew she was going to pry into things she had no business knowing. With an irritated sigh, Sly readjusted his seat into something actually vertical again so he could be level with her in more ways than one.

“I’m just not the biggest fan of flying, alright?”

The sharp retort prepared on her tongue vanished in the wake of confusion. “You’re not? How come?”

“Consider it a phobia. It paralyzes me.”

She squinted at him. He met her eyes without hiding anything. The truth was the truth, and he could see her defensiveness easing away as she realized it.

“Oh. Well, I’m sure we can get you something to help. Over the counter anxiety meds, maybe.”

The raccoon let out an audible snort. “Nothing short of Klonopin is going to help me with that. Trust me, I speak from experience.”

Before the inspector could respond to that, her cell phone suddenly went off. She answered it immediately albeit with a sharp glance his way, as if to say their conversation was far from over.

“Hello? Oh! Bentley, thanks for calling back, I – okay. Okay. But you – you can? Great! Thank you so much! Yes, we’ll come back later.”

Sly picked at the seams of his gloves, waiting patiently until the fox ended the call.

“He says most of the damage was in the charge port, and he has the spare parts for it,” she told him the moment she hung up. “But it’s going to take the rest of the day even if he skips the other projects that were in line before mine.”

“All day, huh? Pretty sure we’ll have figured out a route to Haiti way before then. That’s a lot of time to kill.”

To his surprise, she shook her head. “Not for me. I have to check in with my superiors about my plan to go after Mz. Ruby first, and get an update on the evidence they’ve been sorting through from the bust on Muggshot. If there’s any new information about his cohorts, I need to know as soon as possible.”

“Sounds…fun.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” The cop gave him a particular look that he decidedly didn’t like. “But it’s all confidential, and I can’t risk you eavesdropping on my phone calls again.”

“I thought we’d already established that it wasn’t actually eavesdropping if your boss was yelling so loud I could hear him across the room.”

“Regardless,” she continued, irritation seeping into her voice, “you can’t be around me for that. I’m not risking it happening again.”

Sly sat up straighter in his seat, not liking at all where this was going. “What, so you’re just going to kick me out of the car for the next six, seven hours ‘til you’re done? What am I supposed to do – sit on the curb with my chin in my hands all day?”

Inspector Fox began working her jaw; a tic he was starting to notice meant she was deep in thought instead of merely frustrated. Her eyes drifted up and down his hoodie.

“How prepared are you for a long-term trip?”

And that was how Sly found himself standing in front of a general merchandise store, watching his cop companion drive away, with the two-hundred US dollars she’d handed him in his pocket and explicit instructions to buy everything he needed for travel.

It didn’t bother him that she could tell he didn’t have many belongings to his name – the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes nearly two days after they’d first met had probably clued her in – but it did bother him that she seemed to think he didn’t have any money. It made sense, because to her he was just a civilian who’d probably been robbed and then captured by Muggshot’s men, but it still smarted his ego as a thief.

With a huff, the raccoon entered the store, grabbed a shopping cart, and made a beeline for the aisle with portable suitcases. Then he made a beeline for the clothing section.

It had been a long time since he’d been able to pick out things for himself. Clothes were always a necessity provided for him by the Five, and only when his previous stuff was starting to get threadbare. A few new shirts, and pants, and a pair of shoes if they were feeling generous. The hoodie he was wearing was courtesy of being stuck in stormy Wales for nearly a month before he’d come to Mesa, because as much as Raleigh hated spending money on the “orphan waif”, he hated having to deal with a sick orphan waif even more.

Even with his newfound freedom, Sly found himself following the same patterns he’d been forced to follow for over half his life; three shirts, three pairs of pants, and a single new pair of shoes were all he put in his cart. He only realized what he was doing when he compared the amount of clothes to the size of the suitcase he’d chosen. There was still far too much space left even if he added his backpack and what he was wearing.

That realization prickled his fur and made his cheeks burn, and so he doubled back and forced himself to pick another two of each despite the voice in his head screaming that he was being greedy for it.

Next up were toiletries.

The raccoon’s toothbrush was already safely tucked away in a side pocket on his backpack, something he’d always done just in case there was ever a chance for him to make a break for it, but everything else had been left behind when he’d been unexpectedly forced out of his room. He began pulling things off the shelves at random as he saw them – toothpaste, shampoo, a fur brush, nail clippers, a pack of razors, and so on and so forth. At one point he passed a jumbo first aid kit and added that to the growing pile as well, knowing that if he got hurt, he would have to rely on himself instead of the cop. She probably didn’t even know how to properly pack a stab wound; much less reset a broken bone or build a makeshift splint.

After that…Sly wasn’t really sure what came after that.

Inspector Fox had promised to be back to pick him up in a few hours, but he still had quite a lot of time to kill. He’d already gotten all the essentials he needed, and there was really nothing else to get that wasn’t wasting space and money.

For a brief minute he toyed with the idea of swinging by the pharmacy and swiping someone’s anxiety prescription meds if he could find something strong enough to last him the upcoming plane ride he was already dreading, but quickly nixed the thought. That was a particularly scummy thing to do even with his skewed ideals. He’d just have to suck it up.

He ended up wandering store aisles, looking at things that held no interest or use to him. So many frivolous, stupid things that people bought. Why buy a toaster and a toaster oven? Why get more than one bed spread unless you absolutely needed a new one? Why spend money on three different kinds of the same food?

Muggshot and Raleigh both loved to do things like that. Sly had lost count of how many times he’d watched the frog import wine worth thousands of Pounds a bottle, or the bulldog order glitzy chandeliers to hang from the ceiling of every room he spent more than an hour in. As a kid who had lived middle class until the night his world was shattered, it had confused him. As an adult who had spent the last eleven years surviving off what little he could get, it infuriated him.

At least Inspector Fox didn’t seem to be like that. Her accommodations were cramped, and a little dingy, but he would take it over glittering fakeness any day of the week. Well, except for maybe that shiny red convertible. That thing stuck out like a sore thumb and he very much hoped she’d ditch it before getting any further in this case.

Something caught his eye in the electronics section.

It was a digital camera, small enough to fit in his hoodie’s front pocket, advertised for taking quality pictures for scrapbooking needs and family vacations. SD card and charger port sold separately but at a bargain, it claimed, and the raccoon didn’t realize how long he’d been looking at it until he noticed an employee approaching him from the corner of his eye.

“That’s a really nice camera,” the deer said, giving him a smile perfected for customer service. “Are you interested? I can take it out of the case for you.”

Sly looked at them, then at the price tag. Two-hundred dollars with all the added accessories. He had nearly four-thousand from what he’d swiped from Muggshot. This would barely put a dent in that. But it still made him hesitate.

Greedy little thing, hissed the voice in his head, a familiar croak with a British accent. Always asking for more than you deserve.

“Yeah, actually, I am interested,” he said louder than necessary, ignoring the weird look the employee gave him as a result. “I’d love to buy it.”

What was he even going to use a camera for? No idea. But it shut up the stupid voice in his head for the time being and that was all that mattered.

When Inspector Fox pulled up to the sidewalk twenty minutes later in her dumb fancy car, Sly was waiting for her with a mostly-full suitcase, turning the camera over and over in his hands. She helped him load his luggage into the trunk alongside her own and all the strange cop stuff she had – was that a jetpack? – and appeared to be distracted by something that she didn't share.

“Why don’t we get something to eat?” She suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

They ordered takeout and ate in her car instead of inside, at her request. It was quiet for a few minutes as she seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

“How’d your check-in go?” He asked after a while, surprising them both that he was the one to break the silence first.

“Good. It was good.” She hesitated. “They haven’t found anything useful for my case, though. Just stuff to help put Muggshot away for a very long time. That’s as much as I can tell you.”

“’S fine. I’m not really interested in all that cop mumbo-jumbo, anyway.”

“I figured you wouldn’t be.” There was another heavy pause as she studied him.

“Something I can help you with?”

“Sly…” The use of his first name made him tense. “Did you…”

The inspector stopped, took a deep breath, and steepled her fingers together. The look on her face was pinched and intense.

“I think we need to clear the air before this goes any further.”

Sly slowly brought his fork down from his mouth and eyed her cautiously. There were only a few things that would warrant a statement like that, and all of them made him nervous. “Uh, okay. You have something specific in mind?”

“A few questions.”

“Ask away,” he said, leaning back in his seat as nonchalantly as he could manage. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“Okay. First question, then – you said you didn’t live in Mesa. Where do you live?” Before he could open his mouth, she gave him a sharp look. “Honest answer, Sly. I want to know.”

The raccoon tapped one finger against his thigh, thinking for a moment. “Honest answer? I don’t have a place.”

Her brows furrowed together in an expression he couldn’t read. “You’re homeless?”

“I mean, I’d personally describe it as ‘between homes’ right now, but…yeah. Essentially.”

The strange look morphed into something that he definitely recognized as pity. He would have challenged it if not for wanting very much to keep his cool as she worked through…whatever it was on her mind.

“But you don’t live in Mesa.”

“Nope. Was just passing through. Really unlucky timing on my part, I guess.”

“Fair enough. Second question – do you have any family you could go back to?”

Sly blinked. “No. I don’t.”

“Any living relatives at all?” She pressed. “People who will worry about where you are or what happens to you?”

“Does it look like I do?” He snapped, tail curling around his ankle. “What’s with the twenty questions all of a sudden, huh? Having second thoughts about this whole thing?”

The cop held up her hands placatingly. “I didn’t mean to dredge up anything! I just wanted to make sure this is really something you want to do.”

“I’ve already told you twice that it was.”

“You did,” she conceded. “You’re right, you did.”

“What’s this really about, Inspector? You were just fine this morning and now it sounds more like you’re trying to come up with an excuse to get me off your back. Did –”

A thought occurred to him.

“…Did you tell your boss about this deal of ours? Did he tell you to ditch me, or persuade me to quit?”

She shifted uncomfortably, clearly called out, and a spike of icy fear shot straight through Sly’s heart.

“What did you say?” He demanded. “What did you say about me?”

“Nothing specific,” she was quick to say, watching him in that very peculiar way again. “I told Bar – my superior that I had found a civilian consultant who could help me get to my next target faster than expected. I didn’t tell him your name, or your species, or anything else. But I had to tell him I was traveling with someone, Sly!”

“Why? Is he your dad? Got a curfew you gotta follow, too?”

“He’s my boss, Ringtail. I have to be transparent in this profession or else no one would trust me. I know you have a weird – thing about the police, but I promise you I didn’t share anything that you didn’t consent to.”

He had most certainly not consented to being put on Interpol’s radar, but he kept that rebuke clamped down under an angry locked jaw. He should have expected this from someone like her; of course she would be as by-the-book as possible. The raccoon folded his arms and pointedly stared out the front windshield.

“What did he have to say about your little escort?”

“To do a background check on you and make sure you knew the danger you were getting into,” she told him. “So here I am, trying to do both before dragging you out of the country on a wild goose chase.”

He wondered if she’d tried to do a formal search on any raccoons named Sly. If she had, he knew without a single doubt that she would not have found anything.

“You want a background check? I’ll give you a background check.”

“That’s not –” she started to say, but he cut her off hard.

“I have no living relatives. My parents died when I was young and I’ve been on my own ever since.” He pulled his forged passport out of his backpack and flashed it just enough so she could see what it was but not the full name on it. “I can travel globally anywhere I want. You can do a search on me but you won’t find anything because I don’t have a criminal record. I don’t have any ties to any family, or friends, or anything in this country, so you don’t have to feel bad about ‘dragging’ me along.”

“Sly –”

“And since you’re wondering how I got those emails – because I know you’re wondering – I got them well before you saved me. I went snooping around in Muggshot’s casino while he was clearing out the locals and stumbled onto them right before those mutts you met came across me. They decided that I needed a full tour of their handiwork of the city since I obviously wasn’t scared enough of them and they were too fucking stupid to actually search my backpack because I gave them all the money I had on me when they demanded it.”

Inspector Fox was staring at him with wide eyes. He kept his chin held high.

“Well?” The raccoon challenged. “What do you have to say to that, Inspector?”

Her body seemed to catch up to her brain, because she suddenly leaned forward and locked her gaze with his, searching for deception. He didn’t even flinch.

“…Okay,” she finally conceded, backing down both physically and mentally. “Okay. Thank you, Sly. I’m sorry for putting you on the spot like that, but I appreciate the honesty. Honesty is important if we’re going to work together for the foreseeable future.”

It was a foreseeable future he was already starting to regret, but he wasn’t ever going to let her know that.

“Yeah, well…I’m just glad you’re satisfied. It’s not every day I spill my guts like that, especially to –”

“To cops. I know.” She finished for him, and there wasn’t as much annoyance over the barb as he would have expected. “You’re starting to get predictable, Ringtail.”

“Am not,” he grumbled, without quite as much bite in his voice. The confrontation had drained all his energy and left him tired more than anything else. “So did you get a flight planned out, or were you too busy gossiping about me?”

“Yes and no. I was mostly setting up hotel accommodations and making contact with the local Haitian police so we could jump right into work once we get there.” She checked her phone. “We’ve still got another hour to kill before Bentley estimated he’d be done, so there’s plenty of time to look at flights.”

“Great. I can’t think of anything more fun than that.”

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At 5 PM on the dot, with a route established and a flight to catch the next day – which Sly was pointedly not going to think about until he absolutely had to – the two of them reentered Wiseturtle Tech to see Bentley putting the finishing touches on the now-fixed shock pistol. Murray was sitting on a stool nearby to watch him work, idly swinging his legs and making the seat rotate back and forth.

Both employees looked up at the jingle of the doorbell, and both waved. Inspector Fox returned the greeting while Sly just nodded his head.

“I’m almost done, I swear,” the turtle mumbled as he went right back to crossing wires. “I just want to be sure I’m not missing anything.”

“Take your time,” she replied. “I’d rather you triple-check everything than rush a job.”

Her eyes trailed over to the wall of tech, then to Sly, then back. She grabbed his hand very suddenly, startling him.

“Come over here,” the fox said, leading him towards a row of simple flip phones. When he looked between them and her with a raised eyebrow, she sighed as if greatly inconvenienced. “Pick out a burner phone.”

“Why?”

“Since it’s clear we’re doing this together, we’ll need a way to communicate in case we ever get separated, and something tells me you don’t already have one of these.”

He gave her a flat stare, but she carefully avoided looking at him or any aspect of his appearance by gesturing to the electronics instead.

“Go on. It’d make me feel a lot better if I’m going to take you with me.”

Rolling his eyes without any heat behind it, the raccoon picked the cheapest one he could find. The thought of picking a more expensive one since she was paying for it popped up for about half a second, but he squashed it right away. There wasn’t any point in taking advantage of her generosity and potentially making her resent him.

Greedy, hissed Raleigh.

Sly gritted his teeth and practically slammed the phone onto the counter, making Bentley jump and Inspector Fox give him a disapproving look.

“I’ll take this one, please,” he said to the hippo, who had scampered back to his post as an actual employee so he could ring them up for their charges.

“Is this your first ever phone?” Murray asked, sounding strangely excited about the concept.

“Maybe,” he answered warily, watching out of the corner of his eye as Inspector Fox pulled her wallet out while Bentley handed her the fixed shock pistol. “Why?”

“Can I be your first phone number?”

Sly swiveled to look at him, confused. “Uh…why? I’m a stranger to you.”

“Well, sure, but – I mean, the first number in your phone should be someone you can rely on, right? And you can always rely on us to help, no matter the problem!” The hippo started playing with his hands, gaze dropping to the ground. “And – and it’s just…you seem like a really cool guy, too.”

That was…not anything he’d expected to hear at all. Sly blinked, completely caught off guard by the compliment and its sincerity, and didn’t immediately respond.

“...Sure,” he finally said, if only because Murray was starting to wilt like a dying flower as the seconds ticked by without an answer. “I don’t see why not.”

He doubted he’d ever call the guy, or even remember he had his number, but there really wasn’t any harm in letting him plug it in, was there?

The hippo beamed at him, wasting no time in doing so, and then passed the phone along to Inspector Fox, who deftly did the same thing with her own number.

“There.” She handed it to him with a smile. “Now we’re both all set.”

Sly watched her set her fixed weapon back into its holster, and thumbed the new device that was now hiding in his hoodie pocket right next to the camera. “Guess we are.”

“Thanks again, Bentley! And you too, Murray.” The fox waved goodbye to them, and this time the raccoon did the same.

“Bye! Don’t be a stranger!” Murray called after them enthusiastically. His turtle coworker watched them go with a pinched, pensive brow.

The moment they were outside, Inspector Fox pulled her pistol out to weigh it in her hands. She seemed satisfied by whatever she felt, because it went right back where it was supposed to without any further fanfare.

Sly watched her, still feeling the weight of the phone on his person. He’d never had a phone before. He’d never needed one before.

“Okay,” she said, turning to him, and all the levity she’d shown in the tech shop disappeared under determination and anticipation. “Next stop: Haiti.”

“Right.” He could do this. He was ready for this.

“Right after a six-hour flight.”

“.......Right.”

Or maybe not.

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A/N: Transitional chapter is important but still a transition. Hopefully a cameo by our favorite boys makes up for it!

A few notes on this one: 1) I did not mean for Sly to get so hostile near the end there. It was just supposed to be Carmelita questioning him to put her many misgivings to rest, but he apparently decided to take it personally and I wasn't about to tell him otherwise lol.

2) I've always had the headcanon that Sly enjoys photography either because of or separately from doing so much recon. It's such a neat hobby and I feel like it fits his introverted nature. We'll just have to see whether he uses the camera in this verse.

3) It was very fun (and kinda sad) to think up what life might have been like for Bentley and Murray if they had never crossed paths with Sly. While I do think he's the glue that pushed them all together, it's still very likely that the more "mundane" versions of them may have still built lives working with each other. Here specifically, Bentley is the tech guy and Murray helps him with deliveries and heavy lifting. Even so, they've both always felt like something was still missing...

Once again, thank you for reading!

#sly cooper #carmelita fox

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kingofhalo · 1 year

Text

(Our story begins with the Cooper Gang watching the news.)

News reporter: BREAKING NEWS! Just last night, the Clockwerk parts were stolen from the Cairo Natural History Museum. And this time, it's not the Klaww Gang. The crook appears to be a very handsome guinea pig. (A picture of Professor Marmalade appears on the screen.)

Murray: “A Guinea pig? Huh. Never know that happened.”

News reporter: INTERPOL reports that they have never seen this criminal before, and they are trying to locate and capture him on the spot.

Murray: “Hmm… Very interesting.”

(Meanwhile, the Bad Guys are watching the same news report.)

Mr. Shark: “Yo, Wolf. Are you seeing this? Apparently, Marmalade is at it again.”

Mr. Wolf: Whoa. How on Earth did he escape? I've never heard of the "Clockwerk parts" before, so I wonder what he's up to now.

Mr. Snake: “Yeah. Must be a real genius.”

Mr. Wolf: So, I'll tell you what...

Sly Cooper: So, guys, you know what?

Mr. Wolf and Sly: (in unison) We're going to locate him and take back the Clockwerk parts.

Murray: “Yeah!“

Mr. Piranha: “That’s a crazy idea, and crazy is just how I roll.”

Bentley: I'll check the security cameras.

Ms. Tarantula: I'm going to look at the database and see when he arrived.

Mr. Shark: “Nice.”

Mr. Wolf: Marmalade is not going to get away this time like he did last time with that meteorite.

Mr. Shark: “I wonder what these Clockwerk parts are exactly.”

Ms. Tarantula: Sooner or later, we'll find out.

Mr. Wolf: It looks like they're an owl sculpture. (He points to the TV.)

Mr. Shark: “Woah. That’s interesting. Yo, I didn’t even know it was an owl.”

Mr. Wolf: That's something weird to steal, but I know that since they were stolen by Marmalade, he's up to no good.

Mr. Snake: “Hey, Tarantula. Did you find something in the database, yet?”

Ms. Tarantula: Well, I looked here, and it says that the Clockwerk parts were, indeed, an owl; but more than just a sculpture. It says here that the owl was a real living robot.

Mr. Piranha: “A living robot? That’s insane. Is it even from here?”

Ms. Tarantula: Well, apparently, it originated from a place called the Krack-Karov Volcano in Russia.

Mr. Shark: “Is that even real? I’ve never seen that in the map before.”

Mr. Wolf: Let me look. (He pulls out a physical map of Russia, then looks over it.) Huh, that's weird. I can't find that volcano on a map, either!

Mr. Snake: (Sighs) “I think it’s probably because it’s from a different dimension.”

Ms. Tarantula: Well, I looked at the security cameras, and it looks like Marmalade arrived at about 2:25 AM.

Mr. Snake: “Any portals shown?”

Ms. Tarantula: No portals. It looks like the Clockwerk parts were already there when he arrived.

Mr. Snake: “Hm… Then, how did the parts get there in the first place?”

Mr. Shark: “Tarantula, can you search up which dimension the volcano is from?“

Ms. Tarantula: Sure thing. (She keeps checking the security footage and the database.) Whoa. You guys are not going to believe this. The Clockwerk parts came from another dimension with anthropomorphic animals, but this one doesn't have any humans in it, apparently except for this one pilot and this one lady with the bottom half of a spider.

Mr. Shark: “That’s amazing.”

Mr. Wolf: I wonder how we're getting broadcast transmissions from that dimension.

Mr. Shark: “Hm… Maybe if there was a way to find an inter-dimensional portal ray, we might get there.”

Ms. Tarantula: That's beside the point. It looks like the parts were very heavy, so they got transported on trucks carrying oversize loads.

Mr. Shark: “True. So, what do we do? Got any plans, Wolf?”

Mr. Wolf: Well, I say we find a way to reach an interdimensional portal.

Mr. Piranha: “Maybe we can contact Diana Foxington. Perhaps she has a way.”

Mr. Wolf: That sounds like a great idea! (He grabs the telephone and dials Diane Foxington's number.) Hello? Is this the Crimson Paw? We need you.

Diane: “Well, well, if it ain’t the spectator Mr. Wolf? What do you need this time?”

Mr. Wolf: We've got a crisis on our hands. Marmalade got into another dimension, and he stole the Clockwerk parts from a museum. The Clockwerk parts were the pieces of a robotic owl that lived in a volcano.

Diane: “I… am not familiar with this clockwork owl. However, seeing as you need my help on this, I think it’s gonna cost you~”

Mr. Wolf: How about we just cut to the chase?

Diane: “Right, right. We’ll discuss payment later. Where do you want me to meet you?”

Mr. Wolf: Wherever the nearest interdimensional portal is, which is... Webs, can you please locate it?

Ms. Tarantula: There's a portal gun near the police station. We can use it to generate a portal.

Mr. Wolf: Thanks. Near the police station.

Diane: “Hm. Alrighty. See you then, Wolf.”

Mr. Shark: “Great. So, you ready, Mr. Wolf?”

Mr. Wolf: Yes. Let's go there now!

At the police station…

*Standing on the corner by the station, Diane Foxington, better known as the Crimson Paw, waits patiently for the crew to arrive*

Mr. Shark: “Hey, Diane.”

Diane: “Mr. Shark, how goes it? I presume your boss is nearby?”

Mr. Shark: “Yeah. He’s right there.”

Mr. Wolf: On the dot. The rest of my crew is here, too.

Mr. Snake: “So, where is this interdimensional portal at?”

Mr. Wolf: Here it is. (He picks up the portal gun out of a bush, then fires it. A portal appears before them.)

Mr. Piranha: “Awesome. Let’s go!”

(They all jump into the portal. They arrive in the "Sly Cooper" dimension, more specifically at the Cairo Natural History Museum.)

Mr. Shark: “Wow. This museum looks beautiful.”

Ms. Tarantula: Hey, who's that on the roof? (She points to Sly Cooper.)

Mr. Shark: “Don’t know. Let’s ask. (Yells at Sly Cooper) Yo! Who are you?”

Sly: Oh no! We've been spotted! (He hides behind a potted plant.)

Mr. Shark: “Relax. We’re not gonna hurt you. We’re bad guys just like you.”

Mr. Snake: “Really?”

Murray: “Hey, Sly. What’s going on?”

Sly: Don't you get it, Murray? A guard spotted me! Wait, I know how to deter him. (He throws an alarm clock off the top of the roof. It rings upon impact with the ground.)

Murray: “Uh, dude. That’s not a guard. That’s literally a wolf, a shark, a piranha, a snake, a tarantula, and a fox without blue hair.”

Sly: Did you say, "A fox without blue hair?" Well, thank goodness. It's not Carmelita.

Murray: “Yeah. Maybe you should talk to them.”

Sly: Bentley, do you agree?

Bentley: I believe so. They claimed to be bad guys, so let's talk to them.

Sly: Copy that. Okay, Murray, I'll talk to them. (He then jumps off the rooftop, then uses his paraglider to reach the Bad Guys. Bentley and Murray follow him.) So, what's going on?

Mr. Shark: “So, we heard about this guy named “Clockwerk”. Apparently, his parts were found by an old villain of ours named Marmalade, who’s a Guinea pig. Anyways, Mr. Wolf, you wanna introduce us?”

Mr. Wolf: No problem. It's nice to meet you guys. I'm Mr. Wolf. And this is my crew: Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Ms. Tarantula, and Mr. Shark. Oh, and that's Diane Foxington. She's another criminal, known as "The Golden Paw". We're the Bad Guys. And you?

Sly: Well, I am Sly Cooper, and this is my gang. That's Bentley, and that's Murray. And also, about Clockwerk, he was my arch nemesis.

Murray: “Yeah. It’s a pretty long story. He killed Sly’s parents and took all the pages of a special book called the Theivius Racoonus.”

Mr. Shark: “Wait, the Thevius Racoonus? What’s that?”

Sly: That's my family heirloom. It's a book that began with my ancient Egyptian ancestor, Slytunkhamen Cooper. It's been passed down for generations. I was supposed to inherit it from my dad, but Clockwerk broke into my house and killed him, then he and his gang, the Fiendish Five, tore it apart. I got dropped off at an orphanage, and that's where I met my friends. Ten years later, I collected every last page of the book, and now it's in my possession.

(Suddenly, a lot of SWAT cars drive up to the museum. Carmelita Fox steps out of the lead car, notices the Cooper Gang, and pulls out her shock pistol.)

Carmelita: A-HA! I've finally caught you, Cooper! Now, hold still, and I'll bring you to jail!

Mr. Shark: “Woah. Who are you, beautiful? (Points at Carmelita)”

Carmelita: I am Inspector Carmelita Fox. I work for INTERPOL, a global police organization. And I have been hunting down Cooper for years. And I mean YEARS! (Suddenly, she notices Diane.) Hey, who are you?

Diane: “Hm…” *She examines Carmelita up and down, studying every detail her outfit. Shes chuckles and extends her hand out to her.* “Diane Foxington. I assume you’re the authority of this dime- I mean, this jurisdiction?”

Carmelita: Yes. Well, actually, I am just an officer. I've got my own henchmen, though. (Suddenly, Lt. Gront comes out of a SWAT car and walks to Carmelita's side.) That's Lieutenant Gronk.

Diane: “Hm. A pleasure. My, uh, ‘henchmen’ and I are out of town to say. Though it does seem like you also have a ‘bad guy’ problem as well?”

Carmelita: Well, I always fail to catch Cooper. Every time I do, he escapes in one way or another. Like this one time he handcuffed me to a handrail at the Krack-Karov Volcano... or this other time when he made the helicopter that was taking him to jail fly in circles.

Diane: “Hang on. What’s this about a Volcano? Would this volcano happen to involve a owl by any chance? I know that sounds crazy but that might be helpful for us.”

Carmelita: Yes. The Krack-Karov Volcano was formerly the hideout of Clockwerk, a robotic owl that wanted to end the Cooper Clan.

Diane: *Looking over to Mr. Wolf and the gang with a smile, she turned her attention back to Carmelita.* “Alright, Miss Fox. I got an offer for you. We capture Sly Cooper for us and in return you bring us to this volcano. Seem fair?”

Carmelita: Well, Clockwerk is now dead. We salvaged his parts and brought them to this museum, so you won't find him there. But now they've been stolen, and we're trying to find out where the thief went, so... hang on a bit, I'm a little torn.

Mr. Shark: “What about Marmalade? He’s the Guinea pig who stole Clockwerk’s parts.”

Carmelita: Wait, you know the thief? Well, I'm going to need some information about him.

Mr. Shark: “Mr. Wolf. Would you like to describe him?“

Mr. Wolf: Yes, I'll go ahead. So, Marmalade is a guinea pig who was set to receive the Golden Dolphin for being the best citizen in our city. When we tried to steal it, we got caught, and he tried to make us go good, but we stayed true to our actual selves. Then he revealed himself to be a crook, and he used a meteorite to gain control of every single guinea pig in the world. He even used Mr. Snake. Right?

Mr. Snake: “Yes. I remember that moment.”

Mr. Wolf: So, anyways, he used the guinea pigs to steal all the money that was supposed to get donated to poor societies, and he also wanted to destroy our lives. However, we stopped him. So, that should give you enough information on his criminal history.

Carmelita: Okay, I see. So, let me get this straight: Marmalade is a criminal who hid his personal life, then sabotaged donations to the poor, homeless children, and other people groups like that.

Mr. Wolf: Correct.

Sly: Guys, I'm a bit worried. Is Carmelita going to hand me over to them?

Murray: “Don’t know.”

Carmelita: Well, Foxington, I have your answer. I must decline your offer, because we are not yet sure if the Clockwerk parts are even in the volcano now, or even where Marmalade is hiding. For all I know, they could be on an aircraft, like that blimp Arpeggio had.

Mr. Shark: “But can we at least team up? That way we can stop Marmalade.”

Bentley: You know, that's not a bad idea.

Sly: I'm with Bentley. We know Clockwerk very well, and you guys know Marmalade very well. So what do you say, Wolf? Deal?

Mr. Wolf: Deal. Now, are you coming with us, Diane?

Diane: “Well, you brought me here so I guess I have no other choice. Beside, I think it could be fun to explore what this new world is like.”

Mr. Shark: “Awesome. (Looks at Carmelita) Hey, Carmelita. You wanna help us? It’ll really be a favor.”

Carmelita: I have no problem with that. I have teamed up with Cooper before, so I bet I will be able to handle you.

Mr. Shark: “Great. Everyone ready to go?”

Mr. Wolf: I'm ready. Okay, guys, let's get in our car. (Then, he looks around and notices that their car isn't there.) Oops, we forgot our car.

Sly: Well, you can use our van. (He points to the Cooper Van.)

Mr. Wolf: Okay, we'll use that.

Bentley: Don't worry. Murray is a very good driver.

Murray: “I sure am. (Everyone gets into the car) Alright, guys, let’s get on the road. (Turns the car on, presses the gas pedal, and drives off with everyone)”

To be continued... part 2 soon

#sly cooper #the bad guys

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flovey-dovey · 2 years

Text

I’ve been tossing this idea around for a long time where I make one o’ them ship lists that folks on here do, but my list is so ridiculously long and I get nervous and constantly forget which ones I’m not actively thinking about, so I never did, but I still kinda really wanna?? If any of these are your jam too let me know in the tags if you like. Some of ‘em have AUs attached, but I’ll leave descriptions of ‘em for later (or never :P).

So here’s a very plain part 1 under the cut! :D (not in any particular order)

Kung Fu Panda - Tai Lung / Po No Straight Roads - DJSS / Neon J, Tatiana / Mayday Sly Cooper - Rajan / Sly Cooper, Panda King / Murray, Mugshot + Don Octavio / Bentley (as in these two big bosses are smitten with the turtle and vice-versa) Toy Story - Buzz Lightyear / Woody Pirates of the Caribbean - Hector Barbossa / Jack Sparrow Epic - Mandrake / Ronin, Mub / MK A Bug’s Life - Hopper / Flik Nightmare Before Christmas - Oogie Boogie / Jack Skellington The Book of Life - Xibalba / Manolo The Great Mouse Detective - Ratigan / Basil Cars - Doc Hudson / Lightning McQueen Hunchback of Notre Dame - Phoebus / Quasimodo Ratatouille - Anton Ego / Linguini Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas - Sinbad / Proteus Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron - Spirit / Little Creek (YES OK I KNOW so sue me) Megamind - Metroman / Megamind Madagascar - Vitaly / Alex, Skipper / Private Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit - Lupin Luminous Wolfgang (OC) / Wallace Tornado Outbreak - Nimbus / Zephyr Jak & Daxter II - Torn / Jak Kingdom Hearts - Axel/Lea / Roxas, Riku / Sora, Xaldin/Dylan / Marluxia/Lauriam, Luxord/’Dolur’ / Demyx/’Dyme’ (NOTE: Luxord and Demyx don’t have official names, so these are the names I’ve come up with after seeing others floating around) Avatar the Last Airbender - Zuko / Sokka One Piece - Shanks / Luffy, Zoro / Sanji, Franky / Usopp, Robin / Nami, Brook / Beck (OC) Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse - Ken / Ryan, Closet / Closette (OC) Code Lyoko - Xana / Jeremy, (OC who I forget the name of) / Odd Crash Bandicoot - Crash Bandicoot / Dr. Neo Cortex, Dingodile / Fake Crash, Crunch Bandicoot / Pinstripe, Ami / Megumi / Liz / Isabella / Tawna Luigi’s Mansion - (OC who I also forget the name of) / Luigi Kim Possible - Shego / Kim Sonic the Hedgehog (ships differ slightly game to game) - Shadow / Sonic, Eggman / Sonic, (etc. I forget about atm) Ace Attorney - Miles Edgeworth / Phoenix Wright, Franziska von Karma / Maya Fey, Godot / Phoenix Wright, Klavier Gavin / Apollo Justice

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galactic-dragoness · 3 years

Note

May i ask for Bentley headcanons? c:

Sure!

Bentley has very diverse taste in music. His favorite genre is heavy metal.

Bentley doesn't really play video games often, contrary to popular belief

Bentley actually isn't allergic to tomatoes and lemons. He IS allergic to cat hair and peanuts.

Bentley HATES the cold, since he is a reptile.

Bentley is also a massive germaphobe. If either of Sly or Murray get sick, he will freak out.

But he will provide soup and medicine nonetheless.

Bentley also knows a lot of fun facts about dinosaurs. Sly is the history buff in the gang, but Bentley loves everything about dinos and fossils.

Bentley once got detention in his youth for trying to make smoke bombs for Sly in the school chemistry lab.

It did not end well.

Bentley and Penelope don't get married, per say (they both see no reason for it) but they do end up being partners for a long, long time.

(Sly 4 didn't happen here)

Bentley unfortunately outlives all of his friends, but he lives long enough to meet Sly and Carmelita's great great grandchildren.

Yeah you read that right.

Bentley is a super polyglot. Like, it's almost unreal how many languages he can speak.

And finally:

Bentley and Carmelita actually get along quite well despite the odds. He often helps her on cybercrime cases and they occasionally do crosswords together.

#sly cooper #bentley #headcanons

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kingncp · 2 years

Note

Tbf I get that. Adaptations don’t always work out. Though I believe anyone who says that the Lord of the Rings films “ruined” the book is a fucking moron. Adapting The Silmarillion would be harder since it takes place over tens of thousands of years. Hence why I think it would do better as a TV series. As for a Sly Cooper movie, part of me wants it, but another part of me doesn’t. I can’t really explain it.

The Sly movie for me, personally... I'm glad it was axed. I didn't feel like the art style was a good choice for the series + the new designs, minus Sly's, weren't all that great. The choice to replace Kevin Miller as Sly was also a big red flag for me at the time, as they decided to keep Bentley's and Murray's but changed Sly's VA for an unknown reason. I feel like an episodic TV series would work perfectly for Sly Cooper, as it'd allow them to still be goofy and funny at times, but can still carry a overlaying plot and introduce more character development to characters we already love.

#anon ask #asks are open!#thanks for the ask #sly cooper #sly cooper tv show #sly cooper movie

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extraneousdominomask · 3 years

Note

Replaying Sly 2 for the first time in eons and am spending an embarrassing amount of time daydreaming what it’d be like if Sly and Bentley were captured in Episode 4 instead and Murray narrated. Down to making his own slideshows of his rescue plans, announcing them to himself.

I've sometimes thought about the same thing. Separating Bentley works well because, although he finds it hard and scary (which makes for great drama), he can pull off a small heist solo. He is the heist-planning person, with a few other skills. Likewise, although he's strongest in a team, Sly is skilled enough at improvising plans to conceivably pull off something similar

Murray... I'm picturing some real mood whiplash between silly monologues, extreme anxiety, and what would probably end up being a bloodbath

#not quite the same tone

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the-cooper-gang · 3 years

Note

✏+ Crash

"Bentley was right, this was a bad idea..." Sly grumbled from where he was hanging upside down.

"Well, we gotta learn to drive somehow." Murray's head was touching the roof of his car.

"There are so many other ways to learn." Bentley was laying on the roof of the car, below them both, his arms were folded.

They were all three banged up, but not seriously injured. Their car was upside down in a ditch on the side of the road, thankfully, it was more damaged that the boys inside.

"Come on, guys." Sly put a hand down to stabilize himself while he unbuckled himself and fell out if his seat, "We gotta get out of here."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we wait until someone finds us so we can get help?" Murray copied Sly and pushed himself out of the car, now sitting beside it, he helped Bentley out as well.

"No way, pal. This is the first crime scene we've made, and just like all our future ones, we cannot be here when other people start showing up." Sly pushed himself onto his feet wobbling a bit, "We should. Stop at a store a get a first aid kit."

"Good idea..." Murray sadly pat the car, "It's sad, she was a good car too." He started to walk, with Sly and Bentley hurrying behind him.

"You shouldn't have pushed it...! In fact, we shouldn't have done this at all!" Bentley investigated his glasses, making sure they weren't damaged, "We stole a car guys!"

"Bentley, come on! My dad stole a lot worse than just a car! We're destined to be great thieves someday!" Sly lifted Bentley right up, swinging him around.

"Alright, alright! Put me down! I get your point!" The second he was on the ground he sped up so Sly couldn't easily grab him again, "still... I can't believe we did that..."

"Well, you better get used to it buddy!" Murray cracked his knuckles, "Cuz once we get better at this stuff, we're gonna be unstoppable!"

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Bentley sighed.

#asks #writing prompt #sly cooper #anonymous

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alfafilly · 4 years

Text

Oh! Since today is the anniversary of the games, guess I can post here that I have a few Sly Cooper themed masks on Redbubble!

https://www.redbubble.com/people/AlfaFilly/shop

I also have Dimitri, Bentley, and Murray! These two are the most popular though.

I don’t make much off these (like $1-$2 per mask pfff) I mostly just made them cause it’s cool AF and I want more fandom stuff even in a global pandemic dangit!!

Anyway, happy birthday Sly and a fandom 18 years strong!! Been here since the beginning and I ain’t leaving!

https://www.redbubble.com/people/AlfaFilly/shop

#sly cooper #slyfox week #slyfox week 2 #carmelita fox #mask #Filly's Art

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pastelbrachypelma · 4 years

Text

Blind Date

Requested by @swampythesweetsketch ! Thank you for your suggestion and I hope you like it!

“I’m so nervous,” Murray admitted, sitting in front of the mirror and staring at himself. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Dude, c’mon!” Sly retorted, barely looking up from where he was putting a top coat over Murray’s nail polish. “If he doesn’t like you, then I’m Santa Claus!”

“That can be arranged,” Bentley teased. “Seriously, though, Murray. Just be yourself. That’s how to be the most attractive.”

“Yeah,” Murray looked away. “I guess. But…”

“Hey,” Sly slid onto the vanity, gently pushing aside a makeup palette with his tail as he sat directly in front of his friend. “Stop worrying, okay?” He grinned. “You know this guy is into you. You’ve been talking for ages. It’s worth a shot at least, right?”

“Right!” Murray squared his shoulders like he was going into battle, and wasn’t wearing holographic nails and a smokey eye. “Thanks for doin my topcoat for me, Sly. And thanks for helping me with my suit, Bentley.”

“No problem,” his brothers said simultaneously.

Sly patted Murray’s shoulder. “Go get ‘im, pal.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Bentley promised.

Murray smiled, and headed out the door.

“All right, Sly,” Bentley said, “you know what to do.”

Sly grabbed his binocucom and cane. “On it!”

Murray was already nervous enough being in a sizable crowd with bounty on his head, but, just as Sly had assured him, Murray was the best at disguises out of all of them, and nobody would recognize “The Murray” with makeup on.

He liked his makeup look; just a foundation to match his skin tone, a little contour, blush, and a smokey eye. Sly had helped with his nails, and they looked good. It wasn’t like Murray couldn’t have done it on his own, but Sly wanted to help, and he was better at nails than at eyeliner. Murray chuckled to himself, thinking of the last time Sly tried to do a winged liner. He’d looked even more like a raccoon than usual!

He was sitting alone at the table, waiting for his date, like he had been for the better part of an hour. Every time the door opened, he would look up, expecting to see a handsome man looking for his table. But, it was just couples or families. He sighed. He was sure a blind date would’ve been better, seeing as nobody could turn him down just because of his weight, but maybe the guy had guessed, judging by how much Murray talked about recipes. Or maybe he thought Murray was a sissy, or…

The door opened again, to someone by themselves. Except Murray could recognize that tail in his sleep. Sly had a satin jacket over a button-down shirt, hair slicked back. He was wearing the dance shoes they’d stolen from India, and was looking a little lost. Murray was a bit worried for two reasons. The first was that Sly was here at all; had something happened? The second was that Sly could only handle big crowds if he was at a social event. Parties, he liked. There were excuses to mingle in small groups. He had never liked large throngs of people. If Sly has a panic attack…

But instead, Sly found him (after pretending to have been looking for him) and waved. Murray waved back, confused, as Sly strode forward confidently through the crowd.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Sly said, brushing dust off his lapels. “Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

“You didn’t,” Murray said, a bit confused. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Sly demurred, giggling shyly. “Oh, don’t be silly! How could I ever turn down a hunk like you?”

Murray wanted to laugh. Sly liked playing the effeminate gay. The question was, why was he doing that in the first place? At that moment, the door to the restaurant opened again, and Bentley rolled his wheelchair inside. People who were waiting for a table stepped aside to give him room. He was disguised as well, a cloth hat matching the more casual dark wash denim jacket he was wearing over a black necktie. Murray could appreciate the aesthetic...but he was still confused.

Bentley made his way towards the table. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, pitching his voice deeper in contrast to the way Sly’s had been more high-pitched. “Hey! What’re you doing here?” He glared at Sly.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Sly pointed an accusing finger at Bentley. “I’m here for my date!”

“So am I,” Bentley said, and Murray smiled, starting to catch on. “One of us has the wrong table and you, buddy,” the turtle wheeled into Sly’s space, making the raccoon step back, hand splayed on his heart in dramatic offense, “are definitely at the wrong table. This gentleman is far too handsome for you!”

“I think he’s just the right amount of handsome,” Sly argues. “Just look at those bulging muscles,” he gestured, and Murray flexed, having a bit of fun now that he was in on the joke. “A man like that deserves the world!”

“Guys, you’re gonna make me blush,” Murray grumbled under his breath. Sly winked before sliding back into character as Bentley charged further.

“And? You still kept this gorgeous man waiting! Look at the poor guy’s makeup! All smudged because you were off…” Bentley waved his hand as he searched for an insult, “vaping!”

Sly gasped. “Do you think I would smoke around such a deceptively delicate flower?! The nerve!”

Murray looked over again as the restaurant doors opened. It was his real date, a buck with gold chains draped artfully around his antlers, dressed to the nines in a slimming suit to complement his slender body. Murray recognized the designer logo on his tie, and felt shame creep up his throat as he thought of his thrifted jacket and pilfered shirt. Even the silk skirt he was so proud of made him feel like a freak next to this guy.

“What’s going on here?” The buck spoke, his voice like molten chocolate, as he approached the table. “Which of you is Murray?” His eyes slid approvingly over Sly, and Murray hid his face. “I hope it’s you, handsome.”

“Sorry,” Sly slid in beside Murray, hooking his arm through the hippo’s. “I’m taken. Happily.”

“Me too.” Bentley took Murray’s hand, glaring at the buck.

The deer narrowed his eyes, then laughed. “Oh, thank god,” he said, relieved. “I could never be seen with such a,” he waved his hand derisively, “hideous beast.”

“Hey,” Sly said, voice sharp despite the different pitch. Murray recognized it as the raccoon’s “don’t fuck with me” voice, a rarely seen anger flashing in his eyes. “Murray is amazing! He’s funny and kind and always knows what to say!”

“His strength and skill can’t be matched!” Bentley agreed.

“And tonight, he’s my date.” Sly declared. “So fuck off.”

“No, he’s my date,” Bentley argued. “You fuck off!”

As his two friends bickered, Murray watched the deer walk away. He felt a little bit upset at the rejection, but his friends were nearby, defending him on what was technically their night off. He felt warm inside even so. It was good to be with his brothers again.

Once the deer was out of sight, Sly deflated. “Ack, my throat,” he complained. “I don’t know how you do those high-pitches voices, Murray. I feel like I’ll be raspy by tomorrow!”

Murray chuckled. “It takes practice.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Bentley suggested. “I think we’ve caused enough of a scene.” He glanced at the table. “Nothing needs to be paid for, right?”

“Nope. I didn’t order yet.” Murray replied.

“Let’s get Chinese,” Sly said, stretching as Murray got to his feet. “I saw a great place on the way over.” He locked his arm through Murray’s, hiding a yawn in the hippo’s bicep.

“Do you mean you saw it or smelled it?” Bentley asked, guiding Murray to the handles of his chair. That was about equivalent to hand-holding, Murray knew.

Sly laughed. “Both!”

“Chinese sounds fantastic,” Murray said, sighing in the fresh air. He was still upset about being stood up. He was glad for his friends, but…

“That guy was a complete jerk,” Bentley grumbled, going back to controlling his own chair as Sly let go of Murray. It wasn’t a sudden “no homo” sort of thing, though. It was more of a natural progression as they walked together on the sidewalk, with Bentley’s chair a half-step ahead. “What didjya day his name was?”

“Pierce Monogram,” Murray said. “Trust fund baby, I think. Works in the family business selling shoes.”

“That’s ironic,” Sly mused, swinging his arms up to rest behind his head as he walked. “He wasn’t wearing shoes.”

Murray laughed. “No, I guess he wasn’t. That’s a dealbreaker for me.”

“Murray, you don’t wear shoes either,” Bentley said.

“Exactly!” Murray went on, still laughing. “Somebody has to wear the shoes in the relationship!”

All three of them laughed, and couldn’t stop laughing until they reached the Chinese.

“Ah, the smell of sweet, sweet MSG,” Sly licked his lips as he set out the various cartons and bowls.

“This isn’t going to give me indigestion, is it?” Bentley asked skeptically, wrinkling his nose.

“No, no, I got your egg rolls and plain rice here,” Sly set out the food separately for Bentley before using a set of chopsticks to serve himself liberal amount of pork fried rice and vegetable lo mein, claiming one of the containers of scallion pancakes for himself.

“Man,” Murray grinned, slurping his hot and sour soup, “I forgot how good Chinese food actually is.”

“Right?!” Sly beamed. “Glad I thought of it. I haven’t had a good Chinese in months!”

“It’s delicious, I agree. Pass the wonton soup, Murray?” Bentley asked.

“What’re we watchin?” Sly asked between shoveling noodles into his mouth.

Murray blushed. “Are you guys gonna kill me if I say I wanna watch “Pitch Perfect” again?”

Sly swallowed noisily. “Nah, I like that one all right. It’s funny.”

“I’ve no objection,” Bentley said, taking off his glasses momentarily to clean them of the fog from his soup. “It’s date night, after all. You always pick the films for date night.”

“You guys still wanna call it date night?” Murray asked.

The gang had always jokingly held “date nights” for self care, movies, and video games. But that had been before Murray was officially out of the closet. His friends were straight. He thought they hadn’t had a date night in a while because his friends didn’t want to do that sort of this with him now that he was out as gay.

Sly leaned forward. “You okay, big guy?”

Murray sniffled. “I...I dunno, I thought you guys...didn’t wanna do this with me anymore.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Bentley asked.

“I’m gay,” Murray confessed. “I like guys.”

“So?” Sly twitched his tail in confusion. “You’re still my brother. My friend.” He waved his tail in Murray’s face, making the hippo sneeze. “In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear,” the raccoon snuggled up properly against Murray’s side, chittering quietly, “I love you, pal.”

“So do I,” Bentley affirmed. “And...not to be too blunt about it, but...it was pretty obvious to me that you weren’t straight. But,” he cleared his throat, smiling. “That never mattered to me. You’re still my brother. And I still love you.”

Murray rubbed the tears out of his eyes. “Thanks, guys.”

“Sure thing, Murray,” Sly replied, butting his head against Murray’s shoulder before sitting up to properly shovel more food down his throat.

“I’ll get the DVD,” Bentley abandoned his food momentarily and rolled his chair over to set up the TV. Once he was done, he took his food and rolled closer to the couch, so Murray could enjoy his comfort, too.

Murray smiled warmly, happily chowing down on Chinese food and shouting all the words to the songs at the top of his lungs.

That was the best part about being home, Murray decided as he laughed at Sly nearly choking on a wonton and Bentley snorting soup out his nose. Being with the people who loved you unconditionally.

#personal #sly cooper #sly cooper fanfic #it’ll be on ao3 soon i’m just lazy #this was such a cute and wholesome suggestion i love it #murray #bentley #blind date

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inspector-montoya-fox · 2 years

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Let’s briefly talk about how Murray naturally gravitates towards female protagonists, i.e. Carmelita & Penelope. i think it doesn’t even have to do with anything else other than gender, and sorry for always making it about that but i think the exploration of male and female relations in the series is fascinating. i think the fact that Carmelita and Penelope have virtually nothing in common in terms of character and that Murray is able to connect with both of them really just speaks on his character and how the gang’s dynamics work. Murray is very much the only member of the core trio who is in touch with his feelings and his sensitivities, whereas the other two fall victim to “what a man should be like” imposed by their furry society, which makes complete sense when you think about Sly feeling the burden of his entire lineage and Bentley just feeling physically inferior. sure, we get Sly’s lil monologue at the end of the first game when he’s thanking his pals for helping him take down Clockwerk, but honestly, overall, there’s not a lot of outward appreciation. without Sly or Bentley, the gang supposedly falls flat, but we have two outings where Murray isn’t present. this just goes to show that Sly and Bentley (and generally other male protagonists) try to hide their vulnerabilities and act tough, whereas Murray doesn’t adhere to the gender norms brought on by societal pressure. he defo embraces his feelings and his identity, and isn’t afraid to follow his gut, like when he’s unable to operate without the Guru and when he straight up just quits like a sensitive legend when Bentley’s injured.

i think all of this^ is the reason behind why it’s easier for Murray to form relationships with female characters. more specifically, he bonds with Carmelita and Penelope during weird phases in their lives. Carmelita is 100% in denial over the entire Neyla Interpol situ, still trying to prove her innocence through shenanigans like setting up shop in the Canadian wilderness as if the gang wasn’t the reason her brain wasn’t turned to caca. like sis... just get with the agenda no1 is taking you seriously. you’re an outlaw plain and simple. in A Cold Alliance, Penelope has just dropped the Black Baron persona, something which provided her with safety and comfort even though it was toxic. she’s welcomed into a group full of testosterone as the lone female member and is treated to Bentley’s raging boner for her and his ego cracking under Sly’s presence in the spotlight. in comes Murray who, in both cases, just happens to be there but turns out to be greatly valued anyway. both Penelope and Carmelita find comfort in his character and his ability to place his vulnerabilities to the forefront.

Sly facing all three female villains in the series makes sense because his brash and narcissistic character creates friction with the concept of women trying to be taken seriously, especially when he tries to be flirty. Mz Ruby, the Contessa and Neyla’s aspirations of being great villains with successful villain plots suddenly get eclipsed by Sly’s arrogance and over-confidence, his flirtatious quips entrapping them in the “yea you’re a villain but you’re also a woman who will be swayed by my charms no matter what”. Murray, on the other hand, has a boss fight against Rajan, who mocks his physical prowess, and by extent his masculinity. this comes as a threat because again Murray doesn’t adhere to the traditional concept of the macho man, even if his appearance and mannerisms suggest otherwise. i think SP really set out to create an oxymoron with this character: a bubbly pink hippo who wears leather wrestler/biker accessories (which can be seen as either ultra-machismo or Tom of Finland + Village People culture) and can take anyone down. add to this the fact that he was initially meant to be explicitly bisexual (even as a joke) and Murray is straight out of the pages of gender theory; how society has forced us to reject our innate bisexuality and our inner “other”.

lastly and because i’m a bitch, this is yet another thing S*nzaru managed to screw up somehow (which is a stretch considering they couldn’t even deliver a decent game with respect to the source material, why the fuck would i expect them to include deep gender relations in the game LMAO). even if we look past the massive load of horseshit the game expects us to be fine with and accept, Carmelita wouldn’t have stormed off in Clan of the Cave Raccoon following Sly’s “betrayal”. i think the dynamics of the gang would have shifted here and she’d naturally gravitate towards Murray, who would understand that what Sly did was not ok. i think alienating her as the angry ex girlfriend definitely showed how little S*nzaru understands gender and gender relations and Murray would have been there for our main girl after a break-up.

anyway, i don’t give a shit if i didn’t answer the question properly. anti-S*nzaru rhetoric for clear skin

#my conscience rests easy knowing i've written this post #sly cooper

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whisker-biscuit · 2 years

Text

Silent as the Grave Chapter 13: Once a Cooper...

Fandom: Sly Cooper

Summary: A certain secret bubbles to the surface.

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When the three of them wake up the next morning, there isn’t anyone knocking on the door to haul them to Mrs. Puffin’s office. Murray yawns and stretches, making the unfamiliar bed creak. He’s always been able to sleep anywhere.

As he rubs his eyes, he hears someone moving on the other side of the room. The hippo pokes his head out from under the shadow of the bunk to see Sly already sitting up in his own bed, looking at that cool stick thing in his arms.

“Good morning!” Murray calls out. Then he feels bad, because he didn’t even check to see if Bentley was awake yet. The raccoon turns his head to stare at him, but doesn’t say good morning back.

“Yes, it is definitely morning,” grumbles Bentley as he turns over in bed to give Murray a dirty look. “Thank you for confirming that by waking me up.”

“Sorry.”

The turtle says something else too quietly for Murray to hear, then speaks up just as Sly starts climbing down the ladder beside him. “It doesn’t matter now. I guess it’s probably better that we all woke up early, anyway, since we don’t want to get caught in here together. Speaking of…”

He looks over at the raccoon.

“Did my - our presence help you last night? Or was your hypothesis flawed?”

Bentley’s got this funny tone to his voice that doesn’t have anything to do with him being tired, and Murray can’t figure it out. He can’t even tell if it’s a good kind of funny or a bad kind. Sly seems to know, though, because he hugs the cool stick thing against his chest and nods without looking at either of them.

“That’s great!” Murray says before the turtle can, because it is great! That’s what they were hoping for! “See? I told you that friends help with all those scary things.”

Bentley makes a weird face, but he doesn’t argue with the truth. “I suppose it was…a successful experiment, then. I’m happy you got some good results.”

Murray grins. Sly doesn’t smile but he looks like he’s happy, which makes the hippo’s grin even bigger.

“Alright, alright, let’s not make a big deal of it. We’re still at risk here, remember.” The turtle fixes his glasses. “I think it’s probably best that you two return to your own rooms to get ready for the day before a staff member catches on.”

It sucks to leave so early after the sleepover, but none of them want to get in trouble. As Sly leads the way back, Murray starts thinking out loud.

“Does this mean you guys aren’t fighting anymore?”

The raccoon shrugs without turning around.

“But it does mean you’re still friends, right?”

Another shrug, but this time Sly turns his head a little to glance at his roommate. After the last two days of being completely ignored by him, Murray feels ready to explode with happiness.

“I think it does. He let us do a sleepover and you didn’t have any nightmares cause of it. I think that means you shouldn’t fight anymore either, cause it makes you both happy to be friends instead of enemies.”

Sly slows down a bit. Murray is pretty sure that means he’s thinking about his words. After a few moments, he starts hurrying again, but lets the hippo walk side by side instead of behind him.

“If Bentley ignores us again today,” the raccoon gives him a look at the word ‘us’, but doesn’t protest it, “then let’s do another sleepover again tonight. He’s probably just shy or is worried about Mrs. Puffin being mean again.”

His roommate seems to consider this, and eventually gives Murray a nod. The hippo is relieved that he agrees, because the idea of those two fighting again or ignoring each other or ignoring him after it seemed like they had finally made up is not something he wants to think about at all.

And just as they thought, Bentley doesn’t come near them at all once everyone else is up. He says hello when they run into each other in the classroom and that’s about it. Murray feels a sting of hurt even though he understands why the turtle is doing it. He can see the adults still watching them now that it’s been pointed out to him, and Sly seems to notice it too, now, because he’s obedient all day and doesn’t seem so mad at Bentley when they run into him.

That night, the two boys sneak out not long after everyone has gone to bed instead of in the middle of the night. It’s not nearly as dark outside, but it’s still just as scary and they’re still just as quiet, because they could easily run into an adult or even another kid while it’s this early.

They make it to Bentley’s room again without getting caught, and Murray knocks on the door to be polite, just in case he’s still awake in there. The turtle answers, looks surprised, then suddenly not-so-surprised at the sight of them.

“I don’t remember agreeing to make this a regular occurrence,” he says, voice flat and arms crossed.

“You said we’d only do it once if it didn’t help Sly,” Murray points out. “But it did help, so we should totally do it again!”

Sly nods along with him, holding his chin high like he dares the other boy to claim he didn’t say that. Bentley drags a hand down his face very slowly with a groan. “Remind me never to give either of you any loopholes to exploit ever again.”

“What’s a loophole?”

“Never mind. Whatever, I guess we can do this again.” The turtle sighs, throws up his hands, and turns around to let them in. Murray sees the smile on his face anyway.

Sly notices it too, because the corners of his mouth lift up as he enters the room.

That’s what they do for the next few days - Bentley stays away from Sly and Murray the whole day, and they all behave for the adults, and then at night they do a big sleepover in Bentley’s room. The hippo feels like a spy in a comic book every time he and his roommate sneak through the halls while everyone else is sleeping. The orphanage is so different and quiet at night, and even though he’s still scared of the dark, it’s starting to get less scary and more cool. Being with Sly makes it all seem so cool.

Sly is just so cool!

Eventually, just as Murray knew they would, the staff stops paying attention to them. They haven’t been caught screwing up or breaking the rules, and there’s a lot of kids here, and so the adults leave them alone. Bentley finally feels comfortable letting the other two boys hang out with him during the day, and it’s the best thing ever.

But they keep having sleepovers, because it’s been really fun and none of them want to stop. On the fifth night of doing it in a row, Bentley watches Sly climb down from his usual bunk with the stick thing looped around his neck.

“Okay, I have to ask - what’s the deal with that cane?” He pauses. “It is a cane, right?”

The raccoon nods as he pulls it off of him, running his hands along the golden hook. It looks very cool and shiny, and Murray wonders if it’s real gold.

“Okay, so, what’s up with it? It…it looks familiar, but I can’t figure out where or how.”

The hippo is really curious too, actually. He’s seen his roommate with it in their room before, and he’d thought it was some kind of new, cool toy. But Sly never plays with it and always just sleeps with it in bed, and Murray hasn’t been brave enough to ask about it. Thank goodness that Bentley is here.

Sly bites his lip and looks back and forth between them. He looks down at his cane for a while, and just when Murray thinks he’s not going to tell them, the raccoon pulls out his notebook.

It’s my dad’s cane

“Ah.” Bentley clears his throat, uncomfortable. “I understand. Apologies if I spoke out of turn.”

Murray understands, too. When you’re only allowed a little space for your own things and already have to give up so much, taking something that belonged to your parents means that thing must be very special.

It’s okay, Sly writes. After another moment of hesitation, he continues. My dad is the coolest person ever.

Murray’s eyes get big. “Wow, really? Was he the president? Or a famous race car driver?”

No. He’s the greatest thief who ever lived.

A…thief? That can’t be right.

Stealing is bad, and people who steal are bad. That’s what Murray has always been taught. He also knows it’s bad because when he was younger, other kids used to steal snacks from him. Even though that hasn’t happened in a long time because he’s so big now, it felt awful, and he still remembers it. How can Sly’s dad be so cool and great if he’s a thief?

Oh, Sly is glaring at him. Did he say that last part out loud?

“I didn’t mean to be mean,” he says, dropping his gaze to the carpet cause that glare is pretty scary, actually. “I’ve just never heard about stealing being good. I’m sorry.”

The raccoon huffs and crosses his arms around his cane, still giving his roommate a pretty dirty look.

Bentley hums in thought, not paying attention to their argument. He’s too busy studying the cane with a big frown on his face. It almost looks like he’s seen it before.

“A thief…” he murmurs. Suddenly his head snaps up, startling the other boys. “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. You said your last name was Cooper. Isn’t that - wasn’t that - on the news the while ago-!”

“Uh…” Murray is so very confused. He has no idea what Bentley is trying to say, and he looks at Sly to see if he understands. The raccoon puts one hand on his hip and uses the other to hold the cane up in front of him. He looks both proud and sad somehow, which the hippo also doesn’t get.

Bentley shakes his head in disbelief. “No way. There’s no way. I knew I’ve heard your last name somewhere!” He turns to Murray, flailing his hands wildly around him. “Didn’t you see the news the other week on the TV in the living room? The thing the staff kept talking about all day?”

There’s a lot of news on TV that the staff talks about all day. Murray hasn’t paid attention to it in a long time. “Uh…the one about the poli-ti-cian who yells a lot?”

“No!” The turtle looks like he’s going to pass out. “The master criminal they found who was murdered! The - the Cooper Thief!”

Oh. Murray’s mouth drops open, because he does remember the adults talking about that one. A criminal so good that he was never ever caught, no matter what he was stealing. The hippo turns to stare at Sly, shocked and amazed because never in his life could he imagine knowing someone related to a master thief.

It’s scary, but it’s also really, really cool.

“Are you a master thief too?!” It bursts out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

Sly goes still. He opens his mouth, closes it, looks at both of them and looks away and then looks back again. Then his jaw clenches tight.

Not yet. But I will be.

“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.” Bentley repeats the words to himself with his hands on his face as he stares at the Cooper Cane. “I can’t believe I’ve been associating with a criminal in the making all this time. Oh my gosh.”

Murray isn’t sure how to feel about this thing that has rocked his entire world, either, but that’s not going to stop him from staying friends with Sly.

“Well - well - I think it’s cool!” He stammers as the raccoon’s ears start to droop. “I’ve never known anyone in my life who’s so cool! Sly is really cool and I’m glad I’m friends with him!”

Sly stares at him, wide-eyed. Bentley does too, so he keeps going.

“And - and - and I know you’re worried about getting in trouble, but Sly said he won’t get caught, and he hasn’t yet, so I trust him! And you should trust him too! Cause he’s your friend!”

The turtle makes a weird, high pitched sound, still looking like he’s going to faint, but all he does is sit down on his bed and cover his eyes with his hands.

“Okay. Okay, just - give me a minute. Oh my gosh.”

Murray sits down carefully next to him, and Sly does the same on his other side after a few seconds of hesitation. The hippo can see how hard his roommate is gripping his dad’s cane. Eventually, Bentley lifts his head to stare up at the top bunk mattress hanging over them.

“You’re really the son of the Cooper Thief.”

It doesn’t sound like a question, but Sly nods anyway.

“And that’s really his real cane that he used for real heists.”

The raccoon nods again. Murray doesn’t know what a ‘heist’ is but he doesn’t dare ask right now.

“And you - you’re going to follow in his footsteps someday, aren’t you?”

Sly holds his head high and puffs out his chest. There’s a proud glimmer in his eyes as he nods.

Bentley makes that funny sound again. He looks at Murray, who shrugs and smiles, and then Sly, who stares back at him just as intensely. Then he looks past the hippo to his nightstand for a long moment. Murray isn’t sure why - all that’s there is a stack of books. But whatever the turtle sees, it’s enough to help him make a decision.

“I just know I’m going to regret this,” he says, holding his hand out to Sly. The raccoon blinks in surprise, then smiles - a real, honest smile - and takes it. “Please don’t make me regret thi–is!”

The word turns into a squeak as Murray wraps his arms around both of them to make a big group hug. He knows it’s rude to do it without asking first, but he can’t help himself right now!

“Murray…” Bentley grunts against his chest. Sly wriggles like a worm and taps at his arm with one hand.

“Sorry! Sorry.” He lets them go; both look very shocked from the sudden hug. Shocked, but not mad. “So…how are you gonna become a master thief like your dad someday, Sly?”

It’s probably not a good question to ask when Bentley is still freaked out about this whole thing, but he’s really curious. The turtle groans and rolls his eyes, but he looks just as interested as Murray.

The smile returns to Sly’s face, small but strong.

My family has this book…

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A/N: We did it! The Cooper cat is finally out of the bag! Once again, let's all give Murray a big Thank You for saving this chapter because poor Bentley was having a panic attack at the end there and I did NOT know how help him by myself lmao

Thanks for reading!

#sly cooper

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